Shuttle check for looms



Dec. 11, 1945. E. A. sANToN SHUTTLE CHECK FOR LOOMS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 1, 1944 Dec. 11, 1945. E. A.ISANTON 2,390,963

SHUTTLE CHECK FOR LOOMS Filed July 1, 1944 2 SheetS -Shet '2 Patented Dec. 11, 1945 SHUTTLE CHECK FOR LOOMS Elliot A. Santon, Worcester, Mass., assignor to Crompton & Knowles Loom Works, Worcester, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Application July 1, 1944, Serial No. 543.094

7 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in shuttle checks for looms and it is the general object of the invention to provide a shuttle-check which will offer considerable resistance to movement of the shuttle when the latter is being boxed but which will offer much less resistance to movement of the shuttle when it is being picked.

Many shuttle checks operate in such a way that the force applied against the shuttle to check it is also applied to it at the time of picking with the result that there is considerable wear on the picker and other parts of the picking mechanism. It is an important object of my present invention to provide a check so constructed that the resistance which it offers to movement of the shuttle binder when the shuttle is being boxed is made up of two factors, one being provided by the deformation of aspring and the other by friction. When the shuttle enters the shuttle box both of these factors come I into play to resist outward movement of the binder, but once the shuttle is completely boxed the spring only acts to force the binder or check against the shuttle. As a result of this relationship the picking mechanism is required to overcome only the force provided by the spring which is considerably less than the combined spring and friction factors of the checking forces.

It is another object of my present invention to provide a floating shuttle binder which is movable bodily with respect to the shuttle box and has one end thereof connected to a strap or the like trained around friction surfaces and acted upon by a spring tending to cause the strap to move the binder to checking position. The other end of the binder is urged toward checking position by the protector finger and I do not need the usual binder spring. I

It is another object of my present invention to provide a flexible strap or the like trained around friction surfaces and both ends of which are movably mounted with respect to the lay, one end being connected to the floating binder and the other end being connected to the spring. When the shuttle is picked the binder has a reverse floating movement caused by the spring, but the friction surfaces resist movement of the strap and retard return movement of the binder, thereby preventing the latter from exerting very much force on the shuttle.

With these and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, my invention resides in the combination andarrangement of parts hereinafter described and set forth.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein a convenient embodiment of my invention is set forth,

Fig. 1 is a plan View of the "shuttle box with my improved shuttle check applied thereto and shown in normal checking position,

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but showing the shuttle in the box and the shuttle check and binder moved outwardly to the position which it occupies when-the shuttle is fully boxed,

Fig. 3 is a front elevation looking in the direction of arrow 3, Fig. 1, and

Fig, 4 is an enlarged vertical section on line 4-4, Fig. 1.

Referring particularly to Figs. 1 and 3, I have shown a loom lay end to having a shuttle box B thereon provided with a box plate H forming the floor of the shuttle box. A rear vertical wall I2 forms the back of the box while the front of the latter is formed by the shuttle binder l3. As shown in Fig. 3 a protector finger I5 extends upwardly from protector rod I5 and engages the inner or left end I! of the binder E3. The finger I 5 operates in the usual manner and exerts a rearward force on the binder end I? tending to move the latter toward the wall l2. A guide is is secured to the lay and receives the reduced end I! and limits forward movement of the latter in a direction away from the wall [2.

The binder comprises a front steel strip to which is secured a block of wood 2t held in position on the strip 20' by bolts 22. A shuttle engaging friction member, made fo instance of leather and indicated at 23, has its left end, see Fig. l, secured to the steel strip 20 at 2%. The greater part of the length of member 23 may be glued or otherwise secured to the Wooden block 2 i.

As shown in Fig. 1, for instance, the right end of the steel strip 20 is bent forwardly as at 25 and a steel angle 26 is welded thereto to define a horizontal slot 2'! extending transversely of the shuttle box. A pin 28 extends through the slot 21 and guides the binder so that the latter can move forwardly and backwardly but is restricted as to longitudinal movement in the direction of the length of the shuttle box.

The matter thus far may be substantially the same as that set forth in my prior Patent No. 2,045,967.

In carrying my present invention into effect I provide a bracket 30 bolted as at iii to the lay end and having a vertical wall 32 in front of. the rear wall l2 and projecting along the lay end t9. Integral with the wall 32 is a horizontal forwardly projecting shelf 35 from which depend right and left arcuate friction arms 36 and 31, respectively. As shown more particularly in Fig. 4 a bolt 40 extends downwardly through the plate 35 and is tapped into the upper end of a stud 4| the enlarged head 42 of which at the upper end thereof is held in tight frictional engagement with the under surface of the shelf 35. The stud has a depending reduced shank 43 to the lower end of which is secured a collar 44 as at 45. A nut 46 is made integral with the lower end of the stud 4| and together with the bolt 40 provides means for securing the stud 4| to the shelf in adjusted angular position.

A strap anchor 50 has a vertical wall 5| integral with a horizontal foot 52 which is rotatably mounted on the shank 43 and supported by the collar 44. A coil spring 55 surrounds the stud 4| and has the upper end thereof extending into the head 42 while the lower end thereof is bent outwardly to engage a part of the vertical wall as shown for instance in Fig. 1. The effect of the spring is to turn the strap anchor 5|) in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 1, and the force exerted by the spring can be varied by reason of the angular adjustment of the stud 4| already described.

The binder |3 has extending forwardly therefrom a tongue 60 which may conveniently be made as a forward extension of the angle 26. This tongue is secured to the left end of a flexible strap 6| as at 62, and the strap extends around the friction arms 36 and 31 and is then attached as at 63 to the vertical wall 5| of the anchor 50. A stop screw 65 carried by the wall 32 is in the position to engage the angle 26 and limit rearward movement of the tongue 60 and binder toward the wall l2.

As shown more particularly in Fig. 3 the the bracket 36 is provided with top and bottom parallel horizontal arms 61 and 68, respectively, which carry the previously described pin 28. The latter may be in the form of a bolt having a head 69 at the upper end thereof and a nut in the lower end thereof by means of which the pin is held firmly to the bracket 30. The pin 28 does not necessarily engage either the front or the back end f the slot 21, since its chief function is to permit back and forth floating of the right end of the binder as viewed in Fig. 1, and also prevent longitudinal movement of the binder as already mentioned. Backward movement of the binder is limited by the screw 65 while the extent to which the binder moves forwardly will ordinarily be dependent upon the width of the shuttle. The steel strap will ordinarily stop in its forward movement a short distance behind the pin 28 so that the latter is not subjected to forward strain during shuttle boxing.

Under normal conditions the parts are in th position shown in Fig. l with the strap anchor held with the strap connection '62 to the left and with the stop screw 65 in engagement with the angle 25. The pin 28 is in the forward part of the slot 21, and the inner end ll of the binder is pushed rearwardlyby the protector finger l5 as the shuttle approaches box B from the opposite end of the loom. As the shuttle S enters the box it engages the left hand part of the binder and moves the end forwardly against the action of the protector finger, causing the binder end IT to engage the guide I8. 7

As' the shuttle continues to move into the box the right end of the binder moves outwardly, being guided by the pin 28 and in its outward movement causing the tongue 60 to move forwardly for the purpose of dragging the leather strap 6| around the friction surfaces 36 and 3! to cause the spring 55 to be subjected to a winding up stress. When the shuttle is completely boxed the connection 63 between the strap and its anchor will be in the position shown in Fig 2 and the tongue 60 'will be in its foremost position. During forward movement of the hinder the friction surfaces 36 and 31 offer considerable resistance to movement of the strap 6| thereacross and this resistance is a large factor in the checking force which is exerted by the binder on the shuttle. After the parts have finally reached the position shown in Fig. 2 the spring 55 is the only part of the shuttle checking mechanism which exerts any rearward force on the hinder, the strap serving merely to transmit the force from the spring to the binder.

When the shuttle is picked out of the box the spring acts through the strap to move the tongue 66 and binder rearwardly from the position of Fig. 2 to that of Fig. 1. It is obvious that during the picking operation the friction surfaces 36 and 31 resist movement of the strap 6| and retard rearward movement of the binder by the spring 55. The pressure of the protector finger I5 is operative throughout movement of the shuttle out of its box to move the end I! of the binder toward the wall l2 and there is therefore no danger that the binder will be too loose to insure proper guidance for the shuttle at the beginning of its flight.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided simple means by which friction and spring means combine to check the shuttle but in which only the spring means are effective to resist picking of the shuttle. It will further be noted that both ends of the strap are movable, one being operatively connected to the spring 55 and the other being attached to the binder. The movement of the strap 6| over the friction arms 36 and 31 is made possible because of the fact that the binder is of the floating type which permits theright end thereof as viewed in Fig. 1 to move forwardly when the shuttle is boxed. Furthermore, the friction arms 36 and 31 serve to retard the effect of the spring 55 in restoring the binder to its normal rear position, thus easing the pick, but the protector finger serves to hold the binder in contact with the shuttle until the latter is well on its way out of the box B. Furthermore, the protector finger and spring 55 enable me to dispense with the usual binder spring.

Having thus described m invention it will be seen that changes and modifications may be made therein by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and I do not wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, but what I claim is:

1. In a shuttle checking mechanism for a loom having a layend and a shuttle box thereon, a floating binder movable bodily transversely of the shuttle box, a bracket secured to the layend, a stud on the bracket, a coiled spring around the stud having one end thereof fixed with respect to the stud, means on the bracket presenting a friction surface, and a flexible strap having one end thereof connected to said binder and having the other end thereof operatively connected to the other end of said spring, the latter acting through the strap to hold the binder in shuttle checking position and hold the strap in frictional contact with the friction surface, the binder when moved by the shuttle, being opposed by the strap due to the frictional contact thereof with the friction surface and being opposed also by the spring.

2. In shuttle checking mechanism for a loom having a layend and a shuttle box thereon, a floating binder movable bodily transversely of the shuttle box, a spring having one end fixed with respect to the layend, means fixed with respect to the layend presenting a friction surface, a flexible strap connected at one end thereof to the binder and operatively connected at the other end thereof to the spring, and a stop for the binder, said spring normally transmitting a force through the strap to the binder and holding the latter against said stop in shuttle engaging position and maintaining the strap in frictional engagement with said friction surface, the spring and strap due to engagement of the latter with said friction surface resisting movement of the binder away from said stop.

3. In shuttle checking mechanism for a loom having a layend and a shuttle box thereon, a floating binder movable bodily transversely of the shuttle box, a spring having one end fixed with respect to the layend, means fixed with respect to the layend between the spring and binder and presenting a friction surface, a flexible strap having one end connected directly to the binder and having the other end thereof operatively connected to said spring and held by the latter against the friction surface, and a stop cooperating with the spring and strap to hold the binder normally in shuttle engaging position, the spring and strap due to engagement of the latter with the friction surface resisting movement of the binder away from said stop.

4. In shuttle checking mechanism for a loom having a layend and a shuttle box thereon, a floating binder movable bodily transversely of the shuttle box, a stop for the binder, a strap having one end thereof connected to the binder, friction means supported in fixed position relatively to the layend, and a spring having one end fixed with respect to the layend and operative to hold the strap against said friction means and operative by a force transmitted therefrom through said strap to hold the binder normally against said stop and in shuttle engaging position, the spring and strap due to engagement of the latter with the friction means resisting movement of the binder away from said stop.

5. In a loom having a lay provided with a shuttle box having a box back and a protector finger normally tending to move toward the box back, a shuttle binder forming part of the box and having the inner end thereof in engagement with the protector finger and having the outer end thereof mounted for floating movement transversely of the shuttle box, means presenting a friction surface fixed with respect to the lay, a spring mounted on the lay, and a friction strap operatively connected to the spring, extending along and in engagement with the friction surface and connected to said outer end of the binder, said spring acting through the strap to urgesaid outer end of the binder toward said box back, the binder when moving away from the box back during boxing of a shuttle having movement of the inner end thereof resisted by said protector finger and having movement of the outer end thereof resisted by the frictional engagement of said strap with said friction surface and also by the spring.

6. In a loom having a lay provided with a shuttle box back and a shuttle binder mounted for movement bodily with respect to the lay in a direction toward and from the box back, means presenting a, friction surface fixed with respect to the lay, a friction strap extending along and, in engagement with the friction surface and having the opposite ends thereof movable with respect to the lay, means to connect one end of the strap to the binder, a spring mounted on the lay and operatively connected to the other end of the lever and acting through the strap tourge the binder toward said box back, bodily movement of the binder away from the box back being resisted by said spring and also by th frictional engagement of said strap and said friction surface.

'7. In a loom having a lay provided with a box back, a floating binder movable bodily transversely of the lay toward and from the box back, a. friction strap connected at one end thereof to the binder, a spring mounted on the lay and operatively connected to the other end of the strap, and friction means carried by the lay to engage that part of the strap intermediate the binder and the spring, th latter normally holding the strap against said friction means and acting through said strap to urge the binder toward said box back, movement of the binder away from the box back being resisted by said spring and also by frictional engagement of said friction strap with said friction means.

ELLIOT A. SANTON. 

